The first Gendarmerie corps was created on 3 April 1850 in Moldavia by the Prince Grigore Alexandru Ghica. After the Union of Wallachia and Moldavia in 1859 under Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the Gendarmerie was subordinated to the Ministry of War as a separate armed force.[3]

In 1893, the Rural Gendarmerie (Jandarmeria Rurală) was established by the Law for the Organization of the Rural Gendarmerie (Legea pentru organizarea Jandarmeriei rurale) as a military corps under the authority of the Ministry of Justice for policing the countryside and under the authority of Ministry of War for military police functions. The bill was proposed by Lascăr Catargiu's Conservative government and it was promulgated by the King on 30 August 1893.[3] The first article of the Ordinance regarding the Implementation of the Rural Gendarmerie Law mentioned that:[3]

The organization of the Rural Gendarmerie, as described in the law, makes this institution a military body, subordinated to the Interior Minister, with the mission to maintain the public order and security. It is also subordinated to the Justice Minister, the Public Minister for policing duties, and to the War Minister for all the aspects regarding military discipline, command and troops' training.

The Peasants' Revolt of 1907 revealed the unpreparedness of the Gendarmerie and its inability to control and quell the rebellion. As a result, another bill (Legea Jandarmeriei) was adopted on 24 March 1908. The new law re-organized the institution, making it a component of the Army with provost duties and transferring commissioned officers from the Army to the Gendarmerie.[3]

The Romanian Gendarmerie was engaged during the Second Balkan War and the First World War with military police duties, policing the front, guarding important installations and organizing the evacuation during the 1916 retreat. The corps also saw actual combat during the 1917 campaign (see also Romanian Campaign (World War I)). The Gendarmerie oversaw the demobilization of the Army in July 1918 and the re-mobilization in October 1918 and maintained the public order in the new territories.[3]

The General Inspectorate of the Gendarmerie is the central structure of the Romanian Gendarmerie under the command of a General Inspector (Inspector-general) appointed by the Minister of Interior.[7]

The General Inspector is assisted by 3 deputies.[8] The first deputy (prim-adjunct) is the chief of the Gendarmerie Staff and heads the Operational Planning and Management, Guard and Institutional Protection and the Public Order and Security Directorates. The other two deputies manage the Human Resources and the Military Schools Directorates, and the Logistics, IT and Communication Directorates respectively.[9]

The task of the General Inspectorate is to plan, manage, coordinate and control the territorial inspectorates, the Mobile Squads, the Special Intervention Brigade and the military schools.[7] The General Inspectorate of the Gendarmerie also acts as an interface of the organization with the other law enforcement agencies and the Interior Ministry.

Also known as "Baza de Aprovizionare pentru Luptă şi Gospodărire" (B.A.L.G.), "Baza de Administrare şi Deservire" or "U.M. 0260" is a technical administrative unit under the command of General Inspectorate of the Gendarmerie. Its primary duties include administration of the buildings and other facilities inside the Inspectorate courtyard, the Gendarmerie's shooting range, vehicle repair and maintenance and farms providing food for the personnel of the Gendarmerie. The farms are located north of Bucharest.

During the period up to 1915 the Romanian Gendarmerie wore a distinctive dress comprising a shako with white plume, dark blue tunic with red facings, white trefoil epaulettes and aiguillettes plus light blue trousers with red stripes. Mounted units of the Gendarmerie wore a silver helmet with spike and white plume, a similar tunic to the foot branch but with yellow epaulettes and aiguillettes, white breeches and high boots.

Currently the Romanian gendarmes wear dark blue berets/caps, shirts/T-shirts and trousers as everyday uniforms, while the dress uniform consists of a light blue tunic, white shirt, dark blue tie and dark blue trousers for the commissioned officers, and a dark blue tunic, white shirt and dark blue trousers for the NCO's and privates. The Honour Guard (Garda de Onoare) wears a light blue and black uniform of nineteenth century style with plumed kepis, white fringed epaulettes and red facings.[15]

After Romania's accession to the European Union, the Jandarmeria sought to be accepted as permanent observer to the European Gendarmerie Force, as a first step towards full membership.[17] On 3 March 2009 the Romanian Gendarmerie became full member of the European Gendarmerie Force.[18]